The global food and beverage metal cans market is valued at $57.19 billion in 2026 and is on track to reach $80.21 billion by 2031, a 7.0% compound annual growth rate, according to new research from MarketsandMarkets. The expansion reflects accelerating retailer and brand reliance on metal packaging across carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, beer, canned vegetables, soups, and ready-to-eat meals — categories that anchor center-store planograms at grocery, mass, and club channel accounts alike.
For CPG manufacturers evaluating packaging strategy, the data underscores a structural shift: aluminum cans, 2-piece formats, and recyclable solutions are increasingly preferred by brand owners navigating sustainability mandates and lightweighting targets. The 330 ml single-serve format commands the largest share of the beverage can segment, aligning with consumer preference for grab-and-go convenience and with the high-velocity SKU configurations that drive turns at checkout and in cooler doors.
Beverages Drive the Category
The beverage application segment holds the dominant market position, supported by volume growth in carbonated soft drinks, hard seltzer, energy drinks, and ready-to-drink formats — each of which has been a consistent scan-data outperformer at grocery retail over the past three years. Aluminum's portability, stackability, and recyclability make it the packaging substrate of choice for high-turn beverage SKUs moving through DSD networks and warehouse delivery alike. Food applications, including canned fruits and vegetables, soups, and shelf-stable proteins, are projected to post the highest application-segment CAGR at 7.2%, a signal that private label and national brand manufacturers in center-store grocery categories will face tightening supply for can stock if capacity additions lag demand.
Asia Pacific is forecast to register the fastest regional CAGR at 7.9% through 2031, reflecting rising packaged food consumption and modern retail expansion across the region. Europe ranks second in growth velocity, supported by robust collection and recycling infrastructure and regulatory pressure favoring circular packaging systems — context that matters for CPG brands sourcing cans for their international SKU portfolios. Read more about packaging trends shaping grocery retail and how category managers are responding to substrate shifts.
M&A Reshapes Supply
Consolidation among major can manufacturers is accelerating, with direct implications for CPG procurement teams. Ball Corporation has moved aggressively: the company announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Benepack S.A., a European beverage can manufacturer, in December 2025, following its earlier acquisition of Alucan — a European specialist in extruded aluminum aerosol and bottle technology — adding manufacturing facilities in Spain and Belgium. Crown Holdings, meanwhile, acquired the Saarlouis facility in Germany, adding approximately 1 billion units of annual production capacity and absorbing the seller's existing customer contracts, strengthening its European beverage can footprint in a market where demand for sustainable metal packaging is accelerating.
On the technology front, CANPACK Group and U.S.-based Canovation formalized a collaboration in June 2026 to commercialize Canovation's CanReseal resealable can technology — a development worth watching for CPG innovation teams exploring premium packaging differentiation. The market remains moderately fragmented, with Crown Holdings, Ball Corporation, Ardagh Group, CANPACK Group, and Toyo Seikan Group Holdings estimated to hold a significant collective share. CPG brands that depend on a short list of co-manufacturers for can supply may find that M&A-driven capacity reallocation affects slotting timelines and minimum-order commitments. For deeper context on how food and beverage packaging shifts are affecting shelf strategy, category management teams should monitor both supply consolidation and sustainability compliance deadlines in key retail accounts.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
